Dear Cheese Enthusiasts,
Styling Cheeses is, and always will be, a work in progress. We have yet to include the myriad of very important British Cheeses, and so many others... but I'm still working at it! I would like to thank two particularly comprehensive websites that were wonderful resources in researching cheese styles. They are cheese.com and cheesenet.com. You will also find them to be the first two listings in our Links section. This guide includes some unusual cheeses with recipes that date back in time, and also some of the newer Farmhouse Cheeses that are made with unpasteurized milks.

I invite you to send me information about your favorites, and a picture of you eating them! I can't promise they will make the guide immediately, but I'll give it my best.
Jude

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Abertam
This traditional Czech Republic, farmhouse cheese is made in Karlovy Vary, the famous spa town previously known as Carslbad. Crowned heads and great 19th century artists, among them Brahms, Chopin, and Alexander Pushkin, came to this town and no doubt enjoyed this wonderful cheese... just as you can today. The natural pastures of this mountainous part of Bohemia provide the sheep with a rich diet that contributes to the robust and rather strong flavor of this pressed cheese. Abertam which is ripened in only two months, is a hard cheese with the shape of an irregular ball, and its natural rind is thin, and yellow to orange.

Appenzeller
Appenzeler cheese is made in the mountain canton of Appenzeller between Lake Constance and the principality of Liechtenstein. In earlier times each valley of the Alps had its own specialty cheese that was used to pay taxes. And Apenzeller was one of these distinctive cheeses... it has been documented for over 7 centuries! The Appenzeller identity was given the AOC designation in 1981, and is protected by a special authority in St. Gallen, Switzerland.

Aragon
Aragon is sometimes made by combining ewe's and goat's milk. The milk is curdling with rennet or thistle-flower extract for less than an hour, then the curd is cut into small bits, drained, molded and pressed by hand. Aragon ripens for only a week in a controlled humid environment.

 

Ardalena
This unusual buffalo milk cheese comes from Transylvania in central Romania. If you visit there, you will probably encounter herds of domesticated water-buffaloes. Exit your car and you will be welcomed by these eager heifers, boasting long manes down their necks and backs, enormous inviting eyes, and surprisingly soft, delicate noses which they love to have rubbed! The challenge for their owners is supplying the buffaloes with water. As their name implies, water-buffaloes crave the wet stuff, and in hot weather they need it to keep cool, as they have very few sweat glands.

Asiago
Asiago is made in the Italian province of Vicenza. It has butter coloring with tiny "eyes," and complex flavors, ranging from mild (clear/white coating) to aged (black coating). Favorite pairings include pasta, fresh figs, pears, salami, and crusty breads. Serve it with red wines, cranberry juice, and sparkling red grape juice.
Asiago d'Allevo is hard and sharp and primarily used for grating. Asiago Grasso Monte, a medium, tangy cheese, is my favorite. The mild and delicate version, Asiago Pressato is sometimes mistaken for American Cheddar.